What To Say On LinkedIn When You're 50+

Using a photo from when you were younger can backfire if you wind up meeting someone and look dramatically different from that picture.

It’s no secret that employers are reluctant to hire older workers. Among other things, they are skeptical about their energy level and ability to use new technology. With so many businesses harnessing social media to build their brands, they also want people who are digitally fluent. Building an online presence with a strong LinkedIn profile can help baby boomers find a new job or hang onto the current one.

But on LinkedIn as in other contexts, the challenge arises: How can workers who are 50 and older accentuate their abilities and not look over the hill? I recently put that question to Nicole Williams, LinkedIn's career expert. Here are the strategies she recommends to deflect age-related bias as you complete the key sections of the LinkedIn template.

Photo. Looks shouldn’t matter, but you’re seven times more likely to have your LinkedIn profile viewed if it includes a photograph, Williams says. Without one, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Employers’ “concern is that you are over the hill in that aesthetic, stereotypical kind of way – that you’re everything they fear,” she says.

The risk, of course, is that people make decisions based on appearances and could drop you from consideration if you look too old. On the other hand, using a photo from when you were younger can backfire if you wind up meeting someone and look dramatically different from that picture. Already you have sent a message that you’re willing to deceive.

What to do? You can’t fake youth, but it’s enough to look your best and seem energetic, Williams says. Have your hair styled and get your makeup professionally done. Whether you have a friend, family member or photographer take the picture, think of something that makes you happy when you look into the camera. Your goal is to smile with your eyes, as well as with your mouth, and not look tired (which just fuels employers’ stereotypes). The more employers can envision you, based on your photograph, in a particular role, the more apt you are to get hired.

Summary. More work experience makes it complicated to craft this section, especially if you have had multiple careers – as is true for an increasing number of people. Without including the number of years (which just screams, “Old!”), write about your career trajectory in a way that helps you market yourself, Williams advises. Save details for the “Experience” section. Concerned about your eclectic background? See my post, “Why A Career Jungle Gym Is Better Than A Career Ladder.”

Experience. Here’s an area where advice about your LinkedIn profile is different from the standard resume rule of thumb. While you might tailor your resume to the position for which you’re applying and only list the relevant experience, that advice doesn’t apply on LinkedIn. (For more about resumes, see “Five Top Resume Turnoffs.”) “LinkedIn is a modern-day Yellow Pages,” says Williams. Whether you are actively or passively looking for a job, fill out your profile to show all your careers and skill sets and the industries in which you have worked. That way, people can find you as opportunities arise.

This strategy paid off for a friend of Williams who was looking for a job in marketing. Long ago, she had been a nurse and wasn’t inclined to include that on her LinkedIn profile because she didn’t think it was relevant. Williams encouraged her to add it. She wound up landing a job in the marketing department of Procter & Gamble. They were looking for someone with a health services background, as well as work experience in marketing. Without listing the experience that preceded her career change, this job seeker might have lost out on that opportunity.

More important than the number of years of experience, is what you’ve accomplished, so quantify and qualify successes as much as possible – for example, by listing prestige clients you’ve worked with or tangible results you’ve achieved. Your goal is to convince the hiring manager (who most likely will be younger than you) “of the validity of what you’ve achieved and what you can do for them,” Williams says. That’s much better than puffing about your 25 or 30 years of work experience, which they might find threatening and which brands you as old, no matter how energetic and productive you are. (See too, “Make Your Age An Asset: 7 Job-Search Tips If You’re Over 50.”)

Education. A perennial question is whether people should include graduation dates, which are a tipoff to their age. The date of graduation is becoming less important on both LinkedIn and resumes, Williams says. Employers are more interested in the quality of your work experience. Including graduation dates immediately ages you, so leave them out, she advises.

Once you set up your profile, don’t stop there. Join industry and special interest groups on LinkedIn that have discussions meaningful to you, and chime into the conversation. This addresses another concern that employers have about older workers: that they are dated and not innovative. By posting questions to the group and answering questions that others have posted, you can deflect this concern.

Whether you are an active or a passive job hunter, make yourself as visible as possible, Williams advises. Even if you’re happy in your current job, there’s nothing like a recruiter offering another opportunity to boost your confidence and bargaining power when you ask for the next raise or promotion. A lot of boomers think, “’There is no new opportunity for me out there,’” Williams observes. You may be surprised to find that a strong presence on LinkedIn can make you very much in demand.

I'm a financial journalist and author with experience as a lawyer, speaker and entrepreneur. As a senior editor at Forbes, I have covered the broad range of topics that affect boomers as they approach retirement age. That means everything from financial strategies and inves>...